EasyHotel loss deepens but budget chain to continue expansion
EasyHotel lost £120,000 in the first six months of the year to the end of March, which it blamed on the temporary closure of its London Old Street hotel due to planning issues, and higher depreciation from new hotels.
Sales across the group were up 25% to £20.2 million while revenue rose 52.6% to £7.26 million. Pre-tax earnings were up 48.2% to £1.46 million.
Now in its fourth year, the budget chain said the revenue of available rooms at its owned hotels was up 10.1%, outperforming what is a fairly flat market, but revenue at its franchised hotels was down 3.5%, which it blamed on poor performance in the Benelux region.
Three new hotels with a total of 290 rooms opened during the six months, and easyHotel said they were trading in line with expectations.
Five new hotels are due to open in the second half of the year, and a further nine are planned over the next two years. EasyHotel said it has a pot of £30.3 million plus £33.9 million of bank financing to fund its further expansion.
CEO Guy Parsons said: "The hotel market outlook remains uncertain, particularly in the UK where the ongoing Brexit negotiations continue to dampen consumer confidence. We are by no means immune, but the maturing profile of our hotels and our strong development pipeline will support continued growth and enhance our earnings profile. Combined with the careful control of our central costs, these efforts give the Board confidence in meeting its expectations for the year ending 30 September 2019."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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